Starting to box

So im looking to start amateur boxing but dont have a clue what the first step would be or how you are matched when you are ready to step in the ring.

Im a bit worried about the match making as back in March I took part in a charity boxing match (Ultra white collar boxing) with only 8 weeks training, i was put in with a guy who had previous fights and was physically a lot stronger than me and got whooped. will i have the same problem in the amateurs ?

Bit of info about me:

20 years old in a couple of weeks, from Birmingham UK, 6'3, 175lbs but could lose a few pounds fairly easily.

Any advice would be appreciated :good

 

lightheavy is awesome for being 6'3 get to a boxing gym and if your coach is even a decent one he will let you fight when he see's you are capable of protecting your self. and you will be matched up with someone equal to your skills

 

Thanks !

I want to get really fit before i join a boxing gym, what sort of distance should i look at running to be in good fighting shape ?

 

Doesn't work like that. You could be capable of running a marathon and still gas after the first round.

Movements i.e. punching, puts different stresses on your body oppose to running (which is EXTREMELY overated in boxing circles). Basically you get fit to box by boxing.

Join a gym ASAP if you want to make something of this.

 

Running is good for leg conditioning, I would do 30 minutes of good jogging try to go for at least 2 miles. I wear ankle weights when I run. Most people aren't anywhere close to fighting shape when they join a gym so you don't have to worry too much. Also, I wouldn't say running is overrated, you just don't want to overdo it.

 

Not the best idea. You may not realize it but it alters your running mechanics. Also puts additional unneeded stress on your joints (running is good at wrecking joints without any help).

 

It takes more running than you think to ruin your joints. I run only 3 days a week for 2 miles. I could see your point if it was 5 miles a day 5 days a week.

 

What I said applies to running with ankle weights, nothing to do with duration or how often.

 

I did some coaching in Manchester. Find ur local ABC and get down there asap. Ur fitness will build up with ur training along with ur confidence. Any decent gym will not even let u spar properly until they know u r ready and this will be after a couple of months at the earliest. U will probably touch spar earlier than this but the aim of this is 2 help ur confidence grow and get u used to be hit although this is and should be much softer than full sparring. Sometimes u will get the odd **** that will try his luck with a newbie and try and take the ****. This happened to me so I avoided this said **** in touch sparring until my confidence grew. Once I was at a decent level say 6 months or so I would search this ****er out and give him a taste of his own medicine. I then realised the decent talented fighters will bring u along and not bully you ad they gain nothing from this. Get down to ur local gym asap and get stuck in u will love it.

 

Join a gym ASAP. Do not wait for anything.

 

Thanks for the advice guys ! Any specific exercises other than shadow boxing etc that you would recommend ?

 

Join a gym mate. They will teach u.

 

Don’t do shadow boxing without learning the basic footwork. Unlearning things are tough than you think. The better the fundamentals, the better your technique.

I know what you are probably thinking. You want to be physically optimal before joining the gym. Like others said, it does not work that way